KAJ Snowfest results and new time
standards are now available on the website under the events tab.

Upcoming
Meets:

KISU Draft Meet:February
9th

KISU is hosting our one-day DRAFT meet again.

This is a meet where swimmers are 'drafted' on to different
coaches/teams and will inter-mix with the rest of the swimmers in
the region. It is a one day meet and should be a lot of fun.
Be sure to sign up.

There is a clinic for all swimmers 7 - 9am. The meet
warm-up is at 10am. Projected finish is 4pm.

-Racing! Ribbons! Muffins! KISU Mini Squad and Junior
swimmers are invited to come out and swim at our first Mini
Meet of the season! This is a great introduction to what it will be
like at swim meets. Everyone will swim either 25m or 50m of
each stroke and will earn a nice handful of ribbons. At the
end swimmers will get a delicious muffin, juice box and
fruit. Hope to see you all there!! Let’s help
them get excited!!

This is KISU highlight meet of the summer. The meet is
open to all Sub4 swimmers and we really encourage all swimmers to
attend. It is great experience - 10 lane outdoor pool,
international competition. It is also a great team bonding
experience for KISU. Don't miss out.

There is an early deadline as this meet does fill up and we want
to be first to get our entries in.

Also . . . book your hotel rooms early as this can be a big
weekend for Wenatchee with other events happening at the same time,
so you want to get your hotel booked as soon as possible.
More information on the KISU Hotel Block Booking is below.
Unless you are camping!

What to Do When Hard Sets and Swim Practices Intimidate
You

Oh, buddy—I doubt there is a swimmer out there who
hasn’t experienced the shock and aww heck
no that happens when coach writes up some preposterous
main set up on the board.

The agony, the ouchies, the out-of-breath’ing… All
of it. Three rounds through. Butterfly.

There are a few different reasons why that big grease-ball of a
set intimidates you, including pure, unadulterated laziness.

But I’m gonna assume that you aren’t lazy, and that
you are simply not putting that pain into proper perspective.

Two things.

Can you take the set or practice one lap at a
time?

When that smelly pile of a main set makes you feel wee and
intimidated, it’s typically because you are thinking about
the sum total of the effort and pain required to
complete the whole set or practice.

Instead of looking at the set as a series of individual laps and
reps, you are mentally tallying up the pain and effort
of every rep stacked one on top of each other.

Like a massive pain sandwich.

It’s no surprise that when you think about sets and
workouts this way you’re gonna experience some heavy-duty
reluctance and a deep feeling of being overwhelmed.

The trick to this is simple, but not always easy. It’s
using something called “to the wall” thinking. (TM
pending!)

The key is taking it one step, one rep, one lap at a time. This
concept isn’t new—you’ve likely been told to
focus on one thing at a time before, right?

Think about just this lap, this stroke cycle, this
repetition.

“To the wall” thinking requires you to take a much
narrower point of view with your swimming and dial things down to
the present lap or rep. Not the last one or even the next one.

This one and this one only.

Here’s an example to illustrate what I’m talking
about.

If I was to write up a set that was just one lap with awesome
technique as fast as you can, what’s your
reaction? No sweat, totally doable.

Right? How about two laps? Three? Okay, starting to stretch it a
little…

How about a hundred? Erm, ouchies.

Notice how you went from yeah, I got
this to I already can’t feel my legs?

This is the mindset you gotta take with you during those tough
sets.

The funny thing about exclusively focusing
on this rep or lap is that you will feel less
anxious when tough sets come up.

And even better…

You will also swim faster.

Your brain is constantly evaluating and judging how much effort
to spend.

When you think about having to do a 10,000m for time and your
brain runs the math at how much effort that will require it’s
no wonder that your mindset takes the 14a exit
for Screwthisville.

The brain, as smart as it can be, doesn’t instinctively
understand the difference between managing the pain of one rep
versus trying to slam it down all at once like a milkshake.

And as a result, will subconsciously slow you down. Not by much,
but just enough. Just some light brake-tapping.

Thinking to the wall will benefit you far
beyond just dealing with those difficult sets in practice—you
will also get the seriously sweet side-benefit of being more
mentally prepared for the stress and anxiety of competition.

And that’s always nice.

Now, for the second thing…

Sometimes it isn’t the physical pain you are
actually fearful of.

That big set, that big scary workout—it’s not always
the pain that it includes that has got ya feeling a little
apprehensive. It’s the idea that you are going to work your
tail off and not be successful.

Here’s an example.

Let’s say that coach has ya doing ten 50s from a dive, the
goal being best average. That’s a tough set—going all
out from the blocks over and over again is sure to result in some
serious lactate and some heavy panting.

You are more worried about not swimming as fast as you hope and
think you should be swimming, which in some brain-fart kind of way
is scarier than the pain you will experience along the way. (Which,
by the way, passes within moments of the set being
completed…)

What if I push myself to the point that there is an 8/10
chance I am going to hurl into the pool gutter, and
Istilldon’t swim as fast
as I think should have?

The physical pain of a hard set is quite fleeting—exertion
pain passes within moments as you lay out-stretched on the cold
pool deck. A minute, maybe two and your breathing is relatively
normal again, and your heart rate quickly descends.

But that fear of failing?

Well, that stings for far longer.

Giving your all on a set and not swimming as fast as you think
you should have—I would argue—is more fearful and
agonizing than the exertion pain from working hard.

We worry about wasting all that effort for a disappointing
result. We worry that if we don’t perform as well as we
think we should, that somehow our big, end goal is also now at
risk.

Of course, if you step back and logically think this through,
the flaws quickly become apparent.

If you do pursue your swimming to the point of failure you
will never experience the outer limits of your
talent and ability. Failure in practice shouldn’t be
feared.

It’s precisely the place where you should be chasing it,
in fact.

To sum up:

When that main set looks epic and gnarly, focus on
performing the first lap or rep to the best of your
ability. Once that is done, focus on the next lap. And so
on. Avoid the urge to jump ahead mentally.

Failing in practice is okay. Training is where
you are battling with your limits, constantly poking and prodding
what you think is capable. Those tough sets are simply
opportunitiesto redefine what you think is possible.

TEAM GEAR:

Do you need some new KISU gear? Contact our equipment
manager Simone Peters at equipment@kisu.ca to order
swimsuits, caps, goggles and flip flops! Looking for other
items, visit the Team Aquatic Website at www.team-aquatic.com and
enter the discount code ‘KIS395’ at checkout to receive
the team discount. Or present a copy of the shark card at retail
stores.

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